


Fearless

by 3rdStarAlien, ConsumingRomance (CameoAmalthea)



Category: Kingdom Hearts
Genre: AU, Cute, M/M, Master/Pet, Predator/Prey, Vore
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-06-07
Updated: 2014-06-07
Packaged: 2018-02-03 17:37:20
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 9,601
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1753121
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/3rdStarAlien/pseuds/3rdStarAlien, https://archiveofourown.org/users/CameoAmalthea/pseuds/ConsumingRomance
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Roxas's home planet was conquered long ago by a fearsome carnivorous race known as the dracarians. Born into slavery on a drac star ship, Roxas never expected to find friendship or love, especially not from a dracarian.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Fearless

The cage sat in the back of the pantry, hidden behind several boxes. It was a plain metal cage with a water bottle clipped to the side, a small food dish, and a pile of blankets for the occupant to nest. They took him out of the cage to let him use the restroom and wash, and turned on the lights when they brought him fruit to eat, but otherwise he was left to a world of cage and darkness. So it was that when the lights came on unexpectedly in the middle of the night, the creature came to front of the cage to peer curiously at the intruder, a dracarian boy.

The boy looked through the stacks of boxes and cans while trying to make as little noise as possible. He'd never hear the end of it if he was caught snooping for his gifts, but as everyone else was currently asleep, getting busted was unlikely. He'd looked just about everywhere in the house that they usually hid his presents and hadn't been able to find anything, there had to be something here.

As he moved to the back of the pantry, he knelt down and pushed aside a box and saw the top of the metal cage. He moved the rest of the boxes off the shelf, and looked down at the little creature surprised. A loritarian? They were nearly extinct, and practically priceless as a result. Even though his parents were wealthy, he had never seen one of them up close before.

It stood at about 7, maybe 8, inches tall. It's a tail just a bit more than that in length, with an alternating black and white pattern that reminded him of a checkerboard. It was a cute little thing, blond hair messily swirled and spiked in all directions, and big blue eyes. It's big ears twitched as it looked at him curiously. He wondered if he could take it out of the cage to get a better look at it, or if it would try to escape if he did. It didn’t seem scared of him, strange as that was, so maybe it would be okay? 

“Hi,” said the creature, looking up at him. While the creature was a rarity to the boy, the loritarian had seen plenty like him before, though none quite as stunning. The dracarian’s hair was a deep red, spiked up around a pair of horns and pointy webbed ears. His eyes slitted like a snake's, and shone like an emerald. There were some patches of small scales on the side of his face, though they were mostly hidden with the way he wore his hair. The creature knew the same kind of scales trailed down his back, until they reached his waist. From there everything was scales, covering the lithe reptilian legs, and the long tail that flicked behind him.

The dracarian seemed surprised when he spoke up. “Hello?” he said in return.

“My name’s Roxas, what’s yours?”

“The name’s Axel,” he said, “Got it memorized?”

Roxas nodded, “Axel,” he repeated, as he looked over the much larger creature. “You’re the one who’s going to eat me. They said I was going to be your birthday dinner in a few weeks.” The creature didn’t seem particularly disturbed by this. “Are you going to eat me now, instead?” His ears dropped down, flat against his head and he wrapped his tail around himself. He still didn’t seem exactly afraid, more sad than anything.

Axel tilted his head to the side, surprised Roxas still didn’t seem afraid of him. He knew he was going to be eaten, that he could be gobbled up right then and there, but he wasn’t acting like normal prey did. No crying, no begging, just… sad?

“No, not yet, I’d probably get in trouble if I did.” Axel told him. These creatures were pretty hard to get ahold of, his parents must have pulled a lot of strings to get one and he doubted they’d appreciate him having it for a midnight snack. “You don’t seem very afraid of the fact I’m going to though, why is that?”

“We don’t feel afraid,” said Roxas, “before you kind came to our world there was very little to be afraid of that could be avoided, more of us died from stress than danger, so we changed, engineered ourselves to not feel fear. We’d flee from a fire because it’s reasonable, but we wouldn’t fear it. We can still feel pain and understand death, and seek to avoid them where possible, but we do not fear. Then your people came and killed many of us, capturing what remained, because we were trusting and did not have weapons, but we still couldn’t fear you because we’d lost the ability. And now we’ve been raised to be eaten for so long, it’s just the way it is. We are born, we grow, and then we are eaten.” 

“Hm. Didn't know that about your kind.” Axel wondered what it must have felt like, not being able to fear anything, even your own death. 

“What do you know?” asked Roxas.

Axel shrugged, “Not much really. I mean, the whole deal with your people being nearly wiped out by mine I knew, just not the 'not being able to feel fear' thing.” He told him, “Hope that means you won’t be begging as much as what I usually eat. I hate it when they do that.”

Roxas looked down, and turned his back on the other. “No one wants to die,” he said, “I don’t understand how you can be so cold.” His voice darkened with anger. He knew lashing out might earn him a more painful death, but in absence of fear, he felt anger and sorrow keenly. Roxas sighed, looking back at Axel. “But no, I won’t beg, there’s no point begging. It’s what I’m for afterall. My kind are delicious.” 

“So I've heard. Never got to try one of your kind before.” Axel told him. He wanted to get a taste of the little creature, but he was sure letting him out now would probably result in biting and an escape attempt. “And okay, that was a bit cruel of me to say, but we both know how things are, and I'm not exactly the type of person to sugar coat things.”

Roxas actually smiled when he said he’d never had one of his kind before. “This will be a very special occasion then. I may be one of the last. I hope you enjoy it.” Roxas indeed knew how things were and he didn’t blame Axel for it, not really, he just disliked cruelty. “I’ll scream less if you kill me quickly,” said Roxas, “I can still feel pain. Your teeth look very sharp. I would prefer not to be in pain, so if you kill me quickly it would be good for both of us. Though I guess my preferences matter less, but in the interest of it being quiet.” 

“My teeth are quite sharp, but you won't have to worry about them.” Axel said, “I take it you're not familiar with how my kind usually eats small prey like yourself?”

He tilted his head to the side, looking at Axel, how big his mouth was, the comment about small prey. “You’re going to eat me whole?”

“Whole and alive,” said Axel.

“I didn’t know that,” said Roxas, “I’ve never seen anyone eaten, when my mom left us they said they’d take her to have more kids or eat her, but not to worry or miss her too much. We’re all eaten eventually. Never thought about what it would be like, just hoped it would be quick. Does being swallowed alive hurt?” 

He admittedly felt a little guilty when Roxas talked about his mom being taken away from him, and it was odd to hear prey talk about being eaten whole without any fear in their voice. “It won’t,” Axel assured him.

Roxas nodded, smiling slightly. “That’s good then. Could we maybe talk about something else?”

“Sure,” Though he wasn't sure what he could talk about with Roxas, he honestly couldn't believe he'd already talked with him this long.

“Thank you,” he said, grinning at Axel. His tail uncurled and he his ears perked up. “So what are you doing here?”

“Oh, I was just poking around to see where my parents hid my presents this year.” Axel said, “You're the first one I've found.”

Roxas laughed, “Doesn’t that spoil the surprise?” he asked. “I mean, I’ve never gotten a gift, but I thought part of the fun was not knowing what you’d get. Like when they bring you new fruit to eat, I like that or when there’s melons, that’s a nice surprise. Though I guess it would still be nice if I knew ahead of time. And now I’m hungry.” He sighed, it would a long time until breakfast, and they hadn’t given him anything too sweet in a while anyway. 

Axel chuckled, “I suppose it does ruin the surprise a little, but sometimes surprises are bad or just not what you want, so I like knowing ahead of time, at least so I know whether or not I need to feign joy.” He shrugged. When Roxas said he was hungry, Axel thought for a moment, then smirked, “Be right back.” He told Roxas, before turning and leaving the pantry.

He came back a short time later with a bowl, setting it down on a shelf before kneeling by the cage again. “Alright, I'm going to let you out for a little while, so no trying to run away. Okay?”

Roxas laughed and nodded in agreement. “Sure thing, where would I go anyway?” He moved towards the cage door. “So do you want me, as a gift, or are you going to have to fake liking me?”

“Oh, I think I'll definetly enjoy you.” Axel smirked as he opened the cage and offered his hand for Roxas to climb on to.

Roxas climbed into his hand and sat, winding his furry tail around Axel’s wrist. He was completely trusting despite the look Axel was giving him. “Good then,” he said. He continued to stare up at Axel, admiring him. He was very beautiful in his way, especially his eyes. 

“You're an odd little thing.” Axel chuckled, petting the boy's head gently with his other hand. He set Roxas down on the shelf next to the bowl and smiled at him, “I'm guessing you've never had ice cream before? I think you'll like this.”

Roxas leaned into the touch, enjoying being petted, and was somewhat sad when Axel set him down, even if there was food waiting. Roxas looked at the ice cream, and grinned. “That looks amazing!” He sat down beside the bowl and picked up a spoon, taking a bite of it. “Oh, it’s so cold, and sweet, mmm, I love it.” 

“I’m glad,” Axel smiled. “Lets make a little deal. You don’t tell anyone I found you, and I'll bring you some every night until, well, you know.” He kinda wanted to anyway, the little guy's face as he ate the ice cream was pretty cute.

Roxas grinned at him. “So I’ll get to see you again before your birthday?” he asked. He wasn’t sure exactly when Axel’s birthday was, probably a few weeks off at least, but whenever it was he’d doubt he’d really get to talk to Axel. It would down the hatch, everything over, and Roxas wanted more time with him. “I’d like that, you’re...surprisingly nice. I didn’t expect that from a dracarian.” He ate more of the ice cream. 

“I can understand that.” Axel said, “I don’t think many dracarians would show much of any kind of mercy to a lower creature. But being a predator doesn't mean I have to be mean. Everything has to eat, right? And unlike your kind, mine can’t survive on just fruit and vegetables.”

“Yeah, I understand that, but...we aren’t lower creatures,” said Roxas, “on our planet we were very advanced, before the invasion. It’s why we didn’t need fear or thought we didn’t, because nothing hurt us anymore, we only hurt each other. After we lost our fear, our hate, there was peace for hundreds of years. We used our technology to create things to benefit our planet and ourselves rather than making weapons. Because of that, when the invasion came, we weren’t prepared, we were trusting and docile. But I don’t think that makes us lower than you.” Roxas thought of his kind, almost wiped out, the survivors taken by the invaders and shipped across the stars to live as livestock. Roxas sighed again, “But I guess I understand if your kind sees it that way, you’re predators, conquerors, it’s probably easier to see the ones who aren’t like you as lower.”

“Sorry. I guess that was the wrong choice words.” Axel said, “You're right, you're not lower than us intelligence wise. You're just... lower on the food chain. I mean, you kinda look like the creatures we already eat here, just a lot fluffier than they are. And, you know, tastier.”

Roxas smiled at the apology. He’d half worried that Axel would have grabbed him then and there and proved why he was lower, because he was smaller, weaker, and could be so easily devoured. Axel really wasn’t anything like what he’d expect of one of them, even if he was going to eat him eventually. Roxas stood and leapt onto Axel’s shoulder, curling his fluffy tail around Axel’s neck and making a chirping cooing sound as he nuzzled against Axel’s cheek. 

Axel smiled and pet Roxas again. He hadn't expected the little to jump up on him like that, but the sounds he was making were cute, and the soft furry tail tickled his neck. He was really starting to like the little creature, as much as he knew he shouldn't.

Roxas made a sort of purring sound at the petting, eyes closing for a moment. “Will you scratch behind my ears, I like that?” 

“Sure Roxy.” Axel smiled, granting the request. The way the kid chirped and purred while he did, it was just too cute.

After a while, Roxas turned to him. “Mmm, thank you.” His voice somewhat sleepy. “I- I’m really glad we met Axel. Hey - do you think you could take me with you back to your room, just for tonight?”

“Hmm. Alright, just for tonight.”

“Thanks,” said Roxas.

“What time do they usually feed you in the morning? I've gotta make sure to have you back in the cage before anyone notices.” Axel said, setting the boxes back up and grabbing the bowl of ice cream before they left.

“Not too early, usually around 10, or so?” 

“That’ll give us plenty of time then.” He smirked at Roxas, “and it’s no problem Roxas. You dont have to keep thanking me.” He scratched Roxas behind the ears again as he headed to his room, being as quiet as he could to avoid waking anyone. He wasn’t sure how he’d explain Roxas sitting on shoulder if his parents saw.

“I’m nothing to you,” Roxas whispered, he was right next to Axel’s ear so it was easy to talk to him without being overheard. “well, a meal later, but you know I mean. You don’t have to be kind to me, especially not going out of your way. No one’s ever done that before, and I can’t tell you how much it means to me. I’m yours to do with as you will, and instead of tormenting me you’re doing all this.” 

Axel smiled and petting Roxas again, “I don’t really see any reason to 'torment' you.” He whispered back, “And it doesn't hurt to be a little nice to a future meal for once. I kinda like you anyway. You're cute, and more interesting than my normal food.”

He ducked into his room, shutting the door softly before flicking on the lights. There were various posters hung on the wall almost haphazardly, and a desk that was cluttered with various objects and scraps of paper. A large screen hung on one of the walls, with various consoles and games placed below it. In the far corner there was a cage, currently occupied by a couple snacks that Axel was saving for later.

“Welcome to my room, Roxas.” He said as he sat on the bed, setting the bowl down on the bedside table.

Roxas looked around room before his eyes settled on the cage. “What’s in there?” he asked, whatever they were, they were currently hidden, though Roxas guessed they weren’t pets.

“Breakfast, or maybe a late night snack. I am kinda hungry” Axel said, half joking. He knew he couldn’t scare Roxas by eating in front of him, but it might’ve still been a little cruel.

“People?” he asked, “from your world?”

“Yes.” He said, hoping that would be the end of the conversation concerning what was in the cage, but something told him it wouldn’t be.

Roxas looked away from the cage and fell silent. Axel was what what he was, kind or not. He understood why they ate the sentient creatures, they were smaller, weaker, and to the Axel’s race that made them fit for whatever use their betters saw fit, including as food. It was their nature, they were predators, and eating the races they subjugated was their way of making it clear how little they meant. Roxas put his head down, uncurling his tail from around Axel’s neck to wrap himself in it and hide the tears that came to his eyes. 

“Roxas?” Axel asked, looking at the little creature with a mix of confusion and concern. He didn't think something like that would upset the little guy so much.

“Sorry,” he whispered, not quite trusting his voice to speak louder without breaking.

“It's alright,” Axel assured him, reaching up to pet him again, “I'm sorry if I upset you, little one. Do you still want to spend the night here?”

Without fear, other emotions took it’s place, sorrow, anger, sometimes better things, curiosity, or excitement. Axel petting him, comforting him, that was nice, even if what was going to happen to the others and to him broke his heart. “Yeah, will you hold me?” he asked, “I don’t like being alone.” His kind were meant to have groups, and he craved Axel’s touch, his kindness.

Axel nodded, picking Roxas up off his shoulder and holding him against his chest as he laid back on the bed. He yawned as he continued to pet the little creature curled up against him, and despite his best efforts, soon fell asleep. It had been pretty late.

Roxas snuggled against him, and soon began to purr. It was warm here, and Axel cared for him, and for the moment, that was enough.

X

The morning’s first light woke Roxas from his sleep. He slipped out of Axel’s arms, and moved to the edge of the bed, looking at the window. He lept onto the window sill and sat down, looking out into the alien world. 

There was a small sound of movement from the cage, the creatures inside peering out of their little house, coming out after seeing Axel was still asleep. One went to get a drink of water, while the other went to the side of the cage to get a look out the window, the only form of entertainment they had in their little cage. He noticed Roxas, surprised and shocked to see him just sitting there, apparently without concern about the dracarian asleep on the bed. “Hey!” he called softly, trying to get the others attention without risking waking up Axel.

Roxas turned at the sound, eyes lighting on the creature. Roxas crept over and jumped down beside the cage. “Hi, I’m Roxas,” he said, looking over the creature. They were about the same size, the other a little smaller, his ears rounded instead of pointed and his small tail almost bald. Yes, they weren’t very fuzzy. “You’re from this planet, right? What are you? I’m a loritarian, my kind are from the planet Loritan but I’ve never been there, I was bred on a star ship.”

“We're murinae, and yeah we're from this planet. I've never seen something like you before. Or heard of a loritarian before.” The first one said. “I guess I wouldn't have though. I've lived in cages all my life.”

The second one looked over the them, and stepped forward to join the conversation. “Are you a pet or something? You don't seem scared of... him.” He gestured to Axel's sleeping form.

“No, he’s going to eat me later,” said Roxas, “my kind just don’t feel fear - it’s a long story. Basically dracarians consider us a delicacy. They breed us to eat, though there aren’t many of us left since they like eating us so much. I’m supposed to be his birthday gift but he found me early. I think he’ll still save me for his birthday though.” 

“Oh, so you've got...” The first one looked up at the calendar on the wall, “Thirteen days left.” he pointed to the writing that was surround with little drawings of balloons.

“Thirteen? Really?” Roxas thought he’d have longer, weeks, not days. And he’d only just met Axel, that wasn’t much time to spend together.

“He likes keeping track of the days. It's kinda morbid, but theres not much you can do stuck in a cage.” The other told Roxas. “You on the other hand, are not locked in a cage, and the dracarian doesn't lock that window. You should run while you can, as in now, while he's still asleep.”

Roxas looked back towards the window. “Run? Oh I couldn’t, Axel’s trusting me and what good would it do?” He wasn’t from this world, there was nowhere to run. He had no home, no one of his kind here, and he was valuable. If the local, gigantic wildlife didn’t get him, one of the dracarian was sure to hunt him down. A lack of fear created a lack of will to keeping fighting against all odds, without fear Roxas was left with rationality and a complete absence desperation.

“Trusting?!” The second murinae looked at Roxas like he was crazy. “Do you have any brains in your in that head of yours?! No wonder your kind is almost extinct! Hes going to eat you, whole and alive! At least if you run you have a chance of survival! Staying here means certain death!”

Axel opened an eye, letting out an annoyed growl at the yelling. He sat up, glaring in the direction of the cage.

The first murinae grabbed the other's arm, quickly pulling him back as they hid in the plastic house again. Not that that would do much to protect them if the dracarian decided to have them for breakfast.

Roxas turned at the growl, and jumped back onto the bed. “Sorry,” he said, “I didn’t mean to wake you.” 

“No, you're fine. I'm pretty sure you weren't the one yelling.” Axel said, reaching down and giving Roxas a scratch behind the ears.

Despite the tender touch Roxas’s ears dropped back, pressed against his ears. “Please don’t hurt them, he was only concerned for me.” 

“Hey, as much as I hate being woken up, I'm not gonna hurt them for it.” Axel told him, “I am going to have them for breakfast today, but I was already planning that.”

Roxas wasn’t sure how to feel. Axel wasn’t cruel or vindictive, he wouldn’t hurt them - only kill them, because he was always going to kill them. Because of what they were… “Maybe you wouldn’t, if you got to know them. They seem nice.”

Axel frowned, “I'm not going to 'get to know them,' Roxas.” He said flatly.

Roxas sighed, wishing he’d let them out of the cage. Running would do him no good, but their kind lived here, right? “Are murinae like me, all bred in cages, or are they wild here? Do you hunt them?”

“Both. I caught one of them wild, the other was store bought.” Axel told him, “Cage raised are easier to get ahold of, but I prefer the taste of wild murinae.”

“But they’re...they’re people,” Roxas sighed, there was no winning this argument. He changed the subject. “Since you’re up now, will you take me back to my cage, or will you spend some more time with me? We could have breakfast together, if you’d be willing to leave them for later.” 

Axel sighed and shook his head, Roxas wouldn't understand, but creatures low on the food chain rarely did. Axel looked at the clock on the wall, “Sure, we've got time. I'll get us something to eat.” He took the key to the cage before he left. He trusted Roxas not to run away, but he was pretty sure the boy's concern for the murinae would mean he'd come back to an empty cage if he left the key.

Roxas sighed, and moved back to the cage, leaping on the bars and clinging. “I’m sorry,” he said, “I wish there was someway I could help you. But he’s not cruel at least, he won’t hurt you, when it ends - it’ll be quick.” 

Roxas turned and jumped away, landing back on the bed. At least he’d bought them a little more time. Maybe if he stayed alert he could get the key away from Axel at some point, though he didn’t know how long they had, thanks to them he now knew how long he had now and it wasn’t much… 

X

The next night Axel brought him straight to his room. It was more comfortable than crouching in the pantry. As promised there was ice cream, but Roxas found he lost his appetite when he saw the cage was now quite empty.

Axel grimaced when he saw the way Roxas was looking at the empty cage. He picked Roxas up, petting the kid to try and comfort him. He didn't feel bad about eating them, it was the way things were. But at the same time, he didn't like to see Roxas upset.

Roxas leaned against him, breathing in his scent, completely aware of the irony in taking comfort from a dracarian. Why was he so nice? Why he so wonderful, and kind, and nothing like he’d expect a monster to be? Roxas curled his tail around Axel’s arm, clinging to him. 

This was the way of life, he told himself. You are born, you live a little a while, and then you die. The best you can do is try not to focus on death but instead enjoy the time you have alive. Axel was making his last days better than he ever could have hoped. He would do his best to focus on that, and take comfort in the fact that Axel hadn’t really hurt them much, and wouldn’t hurt him. Without fear, it was easier to trust.

After awhile he looked up at Axel and leaned up to kiss him on the mouth. A small kiss, since Axel’s mouth was bigger than Roxas’s whole head, but he hoped the gesture conveyed how he felt. If nothing else, Roxas was prey willingly putting himself close to the mouth of a predator, and if that was not trust nothing in the world was…

Axel smiled at the kiss, before setting the loritarian down. He concentrated, and shifted his size to shrink down, still a little bigger than Roxas, but they were much closer in size now. He didn't really like being so small, but he supposed Roxas might be a little more comfortable with him like this tonight. And this way he could hold him in his arms while they slept instead of just having him rest on top of his belly. He liked that idea.

Roxas’s eyes widened, wondering at the technology that enabled him to morph or the science behind it if it were some inborn ability of Axel’s kind. He was going to ask, but then decided to how of it didn’t matter really. He didn’t want to waste they had together with explanations, all that mattered was that Axel had done it. Roxas moved to him, embracing him properly for the first times, arms wrapped around his thin frame. Then he looked up at Axel, and wondered if it would be all right to kiss him.

Axel wrapped his arms around Roxas, holding him close. For the moment he didn't care he was getting too close to the boy. He wanted to make the time the boy had left special. He smiled at Roxas when the boy looked up at him, then leaned down and kissed him, figuring it would be okay considering the little kiss Roxas had already given him.

Their lips fit perfectly together now. Axel was warm, and soft, and Roxas lingered there, kissing him again. Small, closed mouth kisses at first, and then softly parting his lips. His heart racing all the while. 

Axel hesitated when Roxas's lips parted, before pulling back and kissing the boy's forehead instead. He liked Roxas, and he wouldn't have minded taking it further, but... Roxas was prey, going to be dinner soon enough. It was just hurt them both more when the time came if they got too involved. 

Roxas blushed when Axel pulled back and kissed him on the forehead instead. What had he been thinking, trying to kiss him? That he was kind of gorgeous, especially now that they were the same size and Roxas could take in his full visage. They weren’t so different, bipedal intelligent creatures tended to share basic features, and besides they were both sentient. Roxas liked him, his kindness, his beauty, just having him there, but he shouldn’t have forgotten himself. He was little more than a cute play thing to Axel, a pet, and a temporary one at that.

“Sorry,” he murmured, looking away for a moment. 

“It's alright, Roxas.” Axel told him, petting his hair softly. “I just... I dont want to hurt you.” He admitted, “We both know what's going to happen, I think it'd be hard on us both if we took this too far.”

Roxas looked back at him and nodded. He was glad Axel didn’t think he was stupid, and didn’t want to hurt him. “I understand,” he said, “I’m food, and you’re going to eat me. Nothing can change that, but until then we can enjoy what time we have. I don’t care how, but if you’re not comfortable I understand. It’s enough just to be here.” He hugged Axel again, resting his head on his chest. 

That night they slept together, Roxas wrapped in Axel’s arms, his furry tail entwined with Axel’s scaled one. So it was for many nights, though sometimes Axel stayed his normal size and Roxas slept curled up on his shoulder tail around his neck, or hidden in the front pocket of his sleep shirt. Axel always petted him, and cuddled him, no matter what form he chose. They had ice cream together, and Axel told him about his world. Sometimes they played games, other times they talked, and there were nights they simply enjoyed eachs company in silent appreciation. 

Of course, there time was limited, and when Axel wasn’t looking Roxas would look at the calendar and mentally count down the days he had left. Until the night before Axel’s birthday came. Axel came for him, as usual, and when he brought Roxas to his room, Roxas noticed the cage was full again, but did his best to keep his eyes off it.

“What do you want to do tonight?” he asked Axel. 

“Heh, was just about ask you the same.” Axel said, “I’m fine with whatever you want to do tonight.”

“I want to do everything,” said Roxas, “I want to stay up late and eat ice cream. I wish I could have been here sooner so we could watch the sunset. I want you to be my size, so we can hold hands. And maybe, if- I know what you said but, if maybe it wouldn’t hurt too much, you could kiss me? Just one kiss, a real kiss. I’d like that.”

Axel smiled at Roxas, setting him down and grabbing his computer, and typing something in. He turned the screen on the wall on, and a video of a sunset on his world start playing. He shifted to his smaller size, climbing onto the bed and sat beside Roxas. “Sorry we couldn't watch the real thing, I hope this is close enough.”

Roxas grinned at him. “Clever,” he said, “at our size it could almost be the sky.” He took Axel’s hand and held it a minute before turning to look up at Axel. Axel hadn’t answered his question about the kiss.

Axel wrapped the end of his tail around Roxas's as they held hands. “So do you want me to kiss you now, or later?” He asked, smiling at Roxas. He still felt it would have made tomorrow more painful, but it was what Roxas wanted on their last night together. And really, he wanted to kiss Roxas as well.

Roxas turned bright pink, and giggled. “You can kiss me whenever you want, and maybe kiss me again, if you like it.” Roxas closed his eyes, and waiting. Hoping it all wasn’t too ridiculous. Then he opened his eyes. “You know, you don’t have to kiss me, if you don’t want-”

Axel kissed him then, effectively interrupting Roxas.

Roxas’s voice changed into muffled cry of surprise which melted a moan. His eyes slipped closed again he tried to keep his sense enough to respond. He’d never kissed anyone before, though he’d seen it in movies. He’d seen a lot of movies. On the ship where he’d grown up the breeders always left a television going in the rooms with the cages, just to give the captives some distraction so they wouldn’t go too stir crazy. The movies didn’t explain what you were supposed to do exactly, maybe not over think and just feel. Lips, tongue, taste, salt and heat and wet and soft. 

When they parted, Roxas was left panting for air. He looked up at Axel, a goofy grin on his face. “You taste nice,” he said, head swimming. 

Axel moaned into the kiss as well, though it was for a very different reason. Roxas tasted amazing. Sweet, with a bit of a salty flavor. And something else, like nothing Axel had ever had before, but it was wonderful. He could see why so many of them had been gobbled up by the invading forces, saying they were delicious was an understatement.

He licked his lips when they parted, savoring the taste of the boy left on his lips. He chuckled when Roxas said he tasted good, “Well you taste amazing.” He purred, licking the boy’s cheek, party teasing him, partly because he wanted another taste.

Roxas giggled at the lick, beginning to purr himself. He wrapped his tail around Axel, chirping happily. He knew the look Axel was giving him was not romantic adoration, he wanted to eat him, and he was going to very soon, but for now it felt nice to see him smile. He didn’t want to be sad now, and tried to push away the sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach. For now he was safe, and he could pretend that Axel loved him. If he looked at it the right way, it would be like this for the rest of his life. 

X

They stayed up late together, but the dawn’s light still roused Roxas from his sleep. Axel was still sound asleep, and Roxas was very careful not to wake him as he slipped out of his arms. He looked back at Axel to make sure he was still asleep then carefully made his way to the bedside table where Axel kept the key to the food cage. He picked it up, then silently made his way to the cage, going as fast as he dared. Roxas climbed up the cage door, and unlocked it. Once it was open and he called out to the sleeping occupants.

“Psst, hey, guys!” he tried to keep his voice little more than a whisper. 

A small blonde murinae girl with white ears and tail was the only one to be awoken by Roxas's voice. She hesitated before looking out of the small house cautiously, fearing she might be grabbed and gobbled up by the flame haired dracarian. She was confused and relieved to see the blond boy standing in the open door of the cage. He was bigger than her, but he didn’t look threatening, and definitely not like something that could eat them.

She looked around for the dracarian, and saw him asleep on the large bed, though noticeably smaller. Not that that was too unusual, she knew their kind were shapeshifters. She looked back at the blond, “Are you… helping us?” She asked, sounding both hopeful and unsure. It seemed too good to be true that they were going to be saved.

“Yup,” said Roxas nodding, “the window’s unlocked. You can climb out and escape. My name’s Roxas, they kept me for food just like you. Come on, wake the others, we don’t have any time to lose.” 

“I'm Namine, and thank you! Thank you so much!” She smiled, still speaking softly. “Sora, Kairi!” She nudged the others awake, quickly telling them what was happening and that that needed to hurry and keep quiet. They crawled out of the house, and one by one climbed out of the cage, being as silent as they could.

However angry Axel was with him for this, her smile made it all worth his while. Roxas led them to the window sill and helped them push it open far enough for them to slip out. He hoped they were good at climbing and had somewhere to go. 

“Go on,” said Roxas, “and good luck.” 

“What about you?” asked Sora. “You’re coming with us.”

“Shh,” Roxas hushed him. Motioning back to the sleeping Axel. “There’s no time to argue. I can’t come with you. I’d only put you at risk, and...I want to stay here. It’s fine,” he lied, “Axel won’t hurt me, I’m like his pet. Don’t worry, just go all right?” 

Sora looked between him and Axel, and finally nodded. “Thank you,” he said, hugging him. “You sure you’ll be alright?”

Roxas forced himself to nod. 

“All right then,” Sora turned and helped Kairi make her way out the window. Roxas smiled at Namine as he waited her turn to leave.

Namine smiled back at him, even though she was worried about him. She gave him a kiss, a thank you kiss that she hoped also wouldn't be a goodbye. “Thank you for saving us.” She said, “Are you sure you won’t come too? We could help you get somewhere safe.”

Roxas blushed at the kiss, smiling nervously. Part of him wished he could go, but he shook his head. “I don’t belong on this world, there’s nowhere I’d fit and I don’t want to put you in any more danger,” said Roxas. “Like I said, I’ll be fine.” He took her hand and kissed it, before leading her to the window. He watched them leave, sad to see them go, but happy they’d have a chance. 

For a long time Roxas simply stayed by the window sill, enjoying the breeze and seeing what he could of the world. The hours ticked by and he turned to look at Axel, who was still fast asleep. Axel should get him back to his cage soon. Roxas wasn’t sure if they’d come for him earlier today. If there were any special preparations aside from cleaning him they might come early. In any case he’d have to be back in his cage before 10. Axel was normally up before now, but they’d stayed up most of the night. 

Well, it was Axel’s birthday, maybe it would be better to let him sleep. Roxas knew the way back to the pantry and could probably sneak back there on his own. Roxas wasn’t sure what if anything he wanted to say to Axel now. Goodbye sounded painful. Maybe it would be better just to go. When he was served to Axel later on today Roxas was sure he wouldn’t be given a chance to speak. That was probably for the best. 

There were a lot of things he’d like to say, stupid things that probably just make Axel feel bad about the whole thing. Axel had given him some of the best days of his life, and even though the time was short it was still wonderful and he glad. He loved Axel, but maybe that was just a trick of instinct. His kind were meant to live in close knit groups and thanks to their engineering they trusted and formed close bonds almost instantly. Theirs had been a world where peace was kept through love, and trust. When loving was in your DNA, did it mean the feelings weren’t real or maybe what you perceive was reality no matter the cause of those feelings. 

Roxas looked at Axel sound asleep. He looked so beautiful, and peaceful. Completely harmless, no sharp teeth, just soft lips. Roxas wanted to kiss him again, even as he lay sleeping, but dared not wake him. Besides, he’d probably be angry about the murinae and Roxas didn’t want things to end on a bad note. 

X

Axel was woken up awhile later by his mom knocking on the bedroom door, he barely had time to return to his normal size before she came in and told him it was time to get up. He complained about still being tired as he looked around for Roxas, hoping the little guy had hidden somewhere when he heard the knocking, since Roxas wasn't laying next to him anymore.

His mom said something about how he shouldn't have stayed up so late or eaten so much. He was confused by that, until he saw the cage was open and empty, and heard her close the window. She told him to get up again, then left. Axel called for Roxas once she was gone, and when he didn't get an answer, he was pretty sure he knew what happened.

He couldn't believe this. He thought he could trust Roxas, and the kid had emptied the cage and run off with the murinae. Axel found he wasn't as worried about being in trouble about the missing loritarian, as he was upset at the fact that Roxas was gone.

As he showered and got dressed, he kept thinking about Roxas. As angry as he was Roxas had run away, Axel hoped he would be okay, that he'd find somewhere safe and not end up someone else's meal.

Axel tried not to think about Roxas too much for the rest of the day. There wasn't much he could do now. He left to hang out with his friends for a few hours while the house was being decorated for the party tonight, promising that he would be back long before it started. Honestly, he didn't want to be around when they discovered the empty cage in the pantry and started yelling. 

X

The party was nice, a small gathering of friends and family. Axel was surprised when he didn't heard anything about Roxas's disappearance, but he was sure he'd hear about it when the guest had all gone home.

Soon it was time for dinner, and everyone took their seats at tables. Axel wasn't sure what to expect when the lidded platter was set down in front of him, until the lid was lifted away.

Roxas sat on the plate, tail curled around himself and ears pressed flat against his head. His eyes flicked up to meet Axel’s gaze and he smiled slightly. “Happy Birthday.” 

So that's why he hadn't heard anything about Roxas's disappearance. Did he.. go back to the cage himself? Why, when he'd had a chance to escape? The way Roxas smiled at him, fully aware of what was about to happen, and wished him a happy birthday made Axel's stomach sink. Someone asked Axel if he was alright after a moment, and he forced a smile.

“Yeah, just surprised. Never seen one of these before.” He lied.

“Do you hear that dear,” asked his mother, looking at his father. “We actually managed to surprise him this year. Usually he manages to find every gift before we have a chance to give it to him. And it’s no surprise you’ve never seen one before, it’s really a once in a lifetime meal.” His parents took the opportunity to explain what Roxas was and how loritarians were so hard to get a hold of. Axel knew that was mostly a passive aggressive shot at some of their 'friends,' and didn't pay much attention to what was being said.

While everyone's attention was on his parents, Axel gave Roxas a small scratch behind the ears. Roxas leaned into the touch, ears rising cheerfully. He wondered at the look on Axel’s face. Did Axel think he’d run off? Roxas hadn’t meant to scare him, but at least he finally got to be surprised on his birthday. It was enough to make him grin for a moment. 

Once everyone had started eating, Axel knew he was out of time to put off his own meal. He picked Roxas up. 

Roxas’s ears fell flat again, though he did not struggled. Axel licked him a few times, both to get him slick for an easy slide down, and to savor the boy's delicious taste. All the while Roxas held still, the feeling of being licked wasn’t altogether unpleasant. It kind of felt nice. He giggled a bit when Axel tickled him. Still, he knew he was about to be eaten. He tried to breath and tell himself it would be all right. He didn’t want to cry now. He didn’t want to make Axel feel bad. Although really, he doubted Axel would care all that much. He remembered how begging merely annoyed him. Roxas was just food.

A few tears escaped his eyes, and he pulled his tail tight around himself again, holding it close as his ears flattened. Roxas closed his eyes, and buried his face in his tail.

Axel smirked when Roxas giggled at the licking, though that faded when Roxas wrapped his tail around himself and his ears flattened again. Axel knew well enough by now what that meant, sad and probably as close to scared as Roxas could be. Best to get this over with now.

He tilted his head back, opening his mouth and lowering Roxas in feet first. The loritarian was more than a single mouthful, from the waist up he was still outside the mouth. Axel continued to suck and lick him, being as gentle and careful as he could with the boy. He purred as he took the first swallow, the rest of Roxas beginning to slide into his mouth.

Roxas did not panic, he could not feel fear. There was no pain, it was soft and warm, no teeth just tongue and throat. Not so bad, wet, slick, but over all kind of nice. When Axel swallowed and pulled all of him into his mouth Roxas felt a sense of loss. Looking out through rows of sharp teeth, he knew he’d never see the light of another day again, never see anything again. He felt very much trapped, and alone. 

He’d said he wouldn’t beg. Without fear, he’d assumed there would be no reason to do something so irrational. Yet now, at the prospect of being gone forever he gave a small cry. “Oh please no!” 

Axel paused when he heard the small cry, almost wanting to spit the boy out now. But it would only a cause a scene, nothing that would end well for either of them. Axel forced himself to take the final swallow, feeling the boy slide down his throat, until Roxas was pushed into his stomach. Axel rested a hand a over his belly, savoring the wonderful feeling of Roxas in his belly, despite how bad he felt. But thanks to his shape shifting, he'd be able to hold Roxas safe inside, and let him out later. Axel wasn't sure what he'd do with Roxas, but... he didn't want to lose him.

Roxas felt himself side downwards towards Axel’s belly. He slid down onto soft flesh, which seemed to move around him. He wondered if he’d be crushed or smothered, but instead he felt himself merely cradled in a smaller, tighter chamber, closed off in darkness. It felt as though on the other side of the fleshy barrier there was more stomach, a wet, gurgling stomach that had more things going into it. As time passed, he heard the splash of liquids chunks of solid things slide down. Where was he? Some place where he’d run out of air then be released for digestion. Axel had promised not to hurt him, after all.

Roxas curled up, and closed his eyes. Whatever was to come he didn’t want to be awake to see it. Besides, he’d hardly slept the night before or during the day that followed. He was tired, and it was warm here, soft, and strangely comforting to feel so close to Axel.

X

Axel was glad when the party had finally ended, saying goodbye to the guest before grabbing one of the extra pieces of cake and heading to his room. He wasn't sure if they'd fed Roxas today, or if he'd even be hungry at all after almost being dinner, but cake would probably be a nice treat after what he'd been through.

Axel set the cake down on the dresser, and glanced towards the empty cage again, before heading into the bathroom. He filled the sink with warm water and bubble bath, and retrieved a couple towels from the cabinet, setting one on the counter. He took a deep breath, then concentrated on bringing Roxas up, spitting him out on top of the soft towel.

Roxas stirred when the flesh around him began to shift, and by the time he’d landed on the towel he had come to a confused, disoriented wakefulness. “Where am I?” he asked, looking around, then up at Axel. “Axel?” 

“Hey Roxy,” Axel smiled at him. He looked the boy over to make sure he was okay. He was a mess, but no cuts or bruises from the looks of it, so that was good. “You feeling okay?” He asked.

Roxas nodded slowly. “I thought you were going to kill me?” 

“I... was going to.” Axel admitted, “But, I don't know, I guess thinking you had run away made me realize how much I actually would miss you if you were gone.” He scratched behind the boy's ear again, “I don't want to lose you. So even if it might be a bad idea, I'm keeping you.”

Roxas chirped and purred at the petting. “You really thought I’d run away? Why? I wouldn’t do that to you,” he said, “and...um...I’m really glad you’re going to keep me. It’s more than I could dream, but...I’m kind of confused. Why did you swallow me?”

Roxas was starting to feel a bit cold since his skin was covered in drool and his tail was dripping it. Noticing the bubble bath Axel had drawn for him he moved to the sink and slid into the bath. Listening to Axel’s explanation as he groomed himself. 

Axel chuckled when Roxas pretty much told him he was the reason he didn't run away with the murinae he'd set free. “You are an odd little creature Roxas.” Axel said, “And well, I'm not quite sure how I'm going to explain my keeping you to my parents. If I refused to eat you at the party I'm sure they would have caused a bit of a scene, and I wanted to avoid that. And I wanted to swallow you anyway since I knew I could keep you safe if I did. Just had to make a little pocket to keep you in so you wouldn't have to deal with getting covered in bits of chewed up cake as well. Hope it wasn't too tight of a squeeze for you.”

“I actually liked it,” said Roxas, scrubbing behind his now bubbles covered ears. “Like being in my mom’s pouch as a baby, not that I remember much about that.” 

Axel replaced the drool covered towel with the clean one. “Well then, maybe we could do it again sometime?” Axel asked. He'd like to be able to swallow Roxas whenever he wanted to. There was something oddly... nice about being able to hold him like that, safe and as close as they could be.

Roxas giggled at the prospect being swallowed again and the way Axel sounded when he suggested it. It was strange, having a future where they could do nice things and simply play, even though Roxas wasn’t sure he’d up for being swallowed alive again anytime soon. Still what mattered was, for the first time in his life, he wasn’t simply waiting to be killed. Roxas finished washing, swam to the edge of the sink and climbed out onto the clean towel Axel had laid out. “So it won’t be harder to explain you’re keeping me after they saw you eat me? And why am I odd?”

Axel reached down and gently wrapped the small figure in the towel, carefully drying him. “It'll still be hard, but easier than explaining it in front of a crowd of people as well. Heh, mom's gonna be disappointed she and dad didn't actually manage to hide something from me this year afterall.” Axel chuckled, “And you're odd because you thought I was going to eat you, had a chance to run away with people that probably would've helped you find somewhere you could go, and instead you stayed here, even going back to your cage yourself, because of me.”

Roxas shrugged, “There wasn’t really anywhere I could go. I’m food, it’s all I’ve ever been. If I ran away with them I’d be a target, which could put them in more danger. And I thought you’d be more mad about me letting them go. I think that’s part of the reason I went back to my cage on my own instead of waking you. I couldn’t face upsetting you. All our memories together had been good. I wanted to keep it that way and…” Roxas sighed trailing off.

“Oh, I am mad about that. But a few snacks aren't worth killing you over.” He wouldn't be keeping them in his room from now on. It may have been more convenient than going to the kitchen every time he wanted a snack, but not if Roxas kept making friends and wanting to set them free. 

Roxas smiled, “Well, I thought you were killing me anyway, but this way you were just going to yell at me first,” he laughed, glad Axel understood why he hadn’t said anything.

“Yeah, probably for the best that you didn't wake me. Things might have ended very differently if you did.” He would have yelled, and Roxas would have insisted what he'd done was right, which would have made Axel angrier, and he might not have decided to keep him.

Roxas winced, ears going flat at the thought. “Well, that wasn’t the only reason I didn’t wake you up. I can’t feel fear, but somehow, I was a complete coward. I didn’t want to say goodbye to you.” 

“You're not a coward.” Axel told him, “Goodbyes hurt, especially ones said with a broken heart. Fear or not, no one wants to feel that kind of pain.”

A smile crept over his features, his heart warmed by Axel’s understanding. “Yeah, and more than that I was...concerned about what I might say if I had the chance. I...I wanted to tell you that I love you. I didn’t say anything because I didn’t want you to make fun of me and I didn’t want to make it harder for you to enjoy your birthday meal. But now, since we’re not saying goodbye, I want you to know I love you. So much.” 

“You think I would have made fun of you for that?” Axel asked. He picked Roxas up, and gave him a small kiss on the forehead.

Roxas smiled, ears rising a bit as he blushed. “Loving someone who plans to eat you? Wouldn’t you have said I’m an odd little thing or worse?”

“I would have said you were odd, but sweet. And it definitely would have made eating you difficult.” How could he kill someone that loved him, someone he'd spent so many nights with, talking with or just enjoying having him there. Someone he felt he loved as well. “I don't think I could have brought myself to do it if you'd told me that. It was hard enough as it was honestly.”

Roxas giggled, and snuggled against him. “So does that mean- you love me too?”

“You think I'd be keeping you if I didn't?” Axel smirked, scratching him behind the ears again.


End file.
